Monthly Archives: June 2015

Because of the urgency of the situation, I have taken it up-on myself to commit NE-CAP to supporting this Europe-wide campaign. This is where many of us came in – with support for people being ground down by unpayable debt – and if we no longer care about it, whether the people are in Nepal or Greece, we may as well pack up now!

DID YOU KNOW?

The draconian austerity forced on Greece to date make George Osborn look like the Good Samaritan!

-These policies have reduced the GDP of the country by 25%, thus increasing its debt:GDP ratio by a third!

-The average pension has been reduced by 61%, and 45% of pensioners live below the poverty line!

-Pensions are now the main source of income for nearly 50% of families, as compared with 36% for salaries!

-50% of young people are unemployed – a human disaster and a political powder keg!

BUT NOW THE CREDITORS WANT FURTHER CUTS! They never learn – these debts are unjust anyway and couldn’t be repaid even if that wasn’t the case.

So – URGENT – please support Greece, Jubilee – and me (in that order!) by adding your name to the Europe-wide petition. See below.

With very good wish, David

Dr David Golding CBE

Declaration of interest: I’m a Founder Member of the national board of trustees of Jubilee Debt Campaign, (the only one to have served consecutively since its formation). Roger Chisnall, Co-Chair of JDC (see his excellent comment below) is another founder member and is, like me, militantly moderate in outlook!

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TAKE ACTION: http://jubileedebt.org.uk/actions/greece-break-chains-debt

Break the chains of Greece’s debt

For the first time since the Eurozone crisis began, a European government is standing up for the needs of its citizens by rejecting an enormous and unjust debt burden – one that was caused by bailing out European banks and financial speculators.

In January, after five long years of punishing austerity followed by deepening poverty, inequality and social crisis, the Greek people demanded a change of course. They gave their new government a mandate to end austerity and renegotiate the terms of Greece’s bailout loans.

But five months into the negotiations, Greece’s powerful creditors are refusing to budge. The ‘Troika’ of the European Union, the IMF and the ECB are demanding more of the same austerity ‘medicine’ that has plunged Greece into crisis.

Greece’s hospitals are running out of medicines, nurses are not being paid, and yet debt payment after debt payment is being demanded in full. That’s why this week we’re taking part in a week of solidarity action around Europe to demonstrate the extent of public support for Greece’s struggle for debt justice.

TODAY we’ve joined with more than 40 organisations in 14 countries across Europe to launch a joint petition demanding debt cancellation for Greece, an end to forced austerity, and new rules for tackling debt crises around the world.

A big show of support from people across Europe in the coming days and weeks is vital to help Greece resist the growing pressure to submit to more punishing bailout conditions.

The evidence of the injustice of Greece’s debts is stacking up. Yesterday, the Greek Parliament presented the preliminary findings of the Greek Debt Truth Committee, a citizen’s debt audit modelled on those used by countries across the global South in their struggles against illegitimate debt.

The Commission found that “Greece has been and still is the victim of an attack premeditated and organized by the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission… aimed exclusively at shifting private debt onto the public sector.“

As our co-chair Roger Chisnall told the meeting: “The austerity imposed in the name of paying this illegitimate debt has contravened human rights, and we see no reason why it should be paid. The costs of cancelling debt should not be recovered from the people of Greece, but from banks which were the real beneficiaries of the bailouts.”

Just 8% of the €252 billion bailout loans paid to Greece since 2010 have reached the Greek people, while the other 92% has gone to Greek and European financial institutions whose reckless lending helped to cause the crisis.

Please help us spread this action and show the people of Greece the support they have from people across Europe in their fight for debt justice.

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“I encourage you in your advocacy for total debt cancellation for poor countries because, frankly, it is a scandal that we are forced to choose between basic health and education for our people and repaying historical debt.”
President Mkapa of Tanzania, 2005